Battle for Hwy. 10: WYC vs. DanvilleWestern Yell County vs. Danville could become heated rivalry for years to come Michael Christopher Assistant Sports Editor DANVILLE - As kids they grew up playing ball in the backyard with their friends. They always wanted their best friend on their team, no matter how good or bad they were. However, their best bud was not on their team every time. Sometimes they faced that friend as an opponent and wanted to be better so they could brag later...

Little Johns-Wolverines at a GlanceWho: Western Yell County Wolverines at Danville Little Johns When: 7 p.m. Friday Where: Little John Field Records: WYC (1-3, 0-0 4AA) at Danville (1-3, 0-0; 5AA) Coaches: D.J. Crane, Danville (31-19); Mark Tolton, WYC (1-12) Last meeting: Danville won 49-14 at Little John Field. Game notes: Danville has only one win to its credit four weeks into the season. WYC won its first varsity game in the program's history last week over Quitman. Through...

A battle of unbeatensPottsville heads to Charleston with 4AAA lead on the line By Quinton Bagley Sports Editor Through four games, Charleston has outscored its opponents 157-22. In their last two games, the Tigers have outscored their opponents 76-0. Of those four games, three were against teams that won their conference title last season, and one was a defending state champion. After wins against the 2006 4AAAA Conference champion Ozark Hillbillies (34-14), the 2...

Apaches at a GlanceWho: Pottsville Apaches at Charleston Tigers When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Where: Tiger Stadium Records: Pottsville (4-0, 1-0 4AAA); Charleston (4-0, 1-0 4AAA) Coaches: Bryan Rust, Pottsville (4-0); Doug Loughridge, Charleston (4-0) Last meeting: Charleston won 41-8 at John Needham Stadium in Pottsville. Game notes: Pottsville is off to its best start in recent history. The Apaches have won the first four games of the 2007 season, but draw a tough op...

Dardanelle coach optimisticBy Corey Thone For THE COURIER DARDANELLE - The Sand Lizards entered a three-game road swing 1-0 after a first-week win over Danville. Dardanelle returns home Friday 2-2, including a loss to defending conference champion Ozark to start 4AAAA Conference play. "We knew going into the Ozark game that they would be way bigger and stronger than we were," Dardanelle head football coach Josh Price said. "But we told the boys to play hard and low, and...

Local teams spot-onLady Panthers finish second in girls' Class AAAA state golf tournament Courier sports staff The Clarksville High School Lady Panthers finished second in the girls' Class AAAA state golf tournament Tuesday with a team score of 292 at Lion's Den Golf Club in Dardanelle. Highland High School took home the title with a 284. Individually for Clarksville, Courtney Wilson placed third with an 87 and Talen Woodard shot a 99. Sara Senter shot a 106 and...

Runners represent RHS, RJHS in L.R.Lady Cyclones, junior boys win UALR cross country open Courier sports staff The Russellville cross country teams made their presence known Saturday at the UALR Open held at Rebsamen Park in Little Rock. The Lady Cyclones won the senior girls division with 76 points. Leading the way were sophomores Kaitlin Bounds, fifth overall, with a time of 21:42.67 and Allison Ridenhour, sixth place, with a time of 22:00.97. Also placing in the top 10 was s...

Dover excels in ConwayJunior girls have dominant finish at Orange Crush Invitational Courier sports staff The Dover Junior High girls' cross country team had a dominant finish Saturday at the Orange Crush Invitational in Conway. The junior Lady Pirates finished second overall out of 12 teams and lost only to Class 6A Batesville. Dover won its division handedly and outpaced the likes of Pulaski Academy, Harrison, Heber Springs and Vilonia. An estimated 130 runners p...

RHS tennis teams' fall to L.R. CentralCourier sports staff ABC National News was on hand Thursday for Russellville's tennis match with Little Rock Central, but it was not the Cyclones and Lady Cyclones the media magnet was there to cover as Russellville's boys and girls' teams both fell to Central. While ABC was covering the match for a special to air Sunday night on the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of Little Rock Central, the Cyclones and Lady Cyclones were hoping to con...

Cyclones 1-0 in 7A CentralCyclones take advantage of short field en route to 20-7win By Quinton Bagley Sports Editor NORTH LITTLE ROCK - The Russellville Cyclones were able to take advantage of their host's miscues as they captured their first 7A Conference victory, 20-7, Friday night in Pulaski County over the North Little Rock Charging Wildcats. "Our defense played outstanding tonight," RHS head coach Jeff Holt said. "We got a couple of turnovers and put 14 points up...

Apaches handle Eagles, move to 4-0By Chuck Pistone For The Courier POTTSVILLE -In the 4AAA Conference opener for both squads, the undefeated Apaches keelhauled the visiting Paris Eagles 34-12. The first quarter saw both teams battle to a 6-6 tie, with Pottsville (4-0, 1-0 4AAA) taking the opening drive 80 yards in four plays. Apache quarterback Josh Falls converted on a 3rd-and-5 with a 10-yard delay keeper. Running back Jonathan Huffman then sped 65 yards through a gap on the...

Pirates open 4AAAA with 27-6 victoryBy Scott Moore For The Courier DOVER  After struggling for most of the first half, the Dover Pirate offense erupted with three big plays in the second half to blow open a close game and an eventual 27-6 4AAAA Conference victory over the Subiaco Academy Trojans at Jack Berry Field Friday night. The two teams played to a 0-0 tie through the first period and most of the second before Daniel Eubanks took a draw play 77 yards for a touchdown with ...

Red Devils hand Warriors first loss of seasonAtkins uses 5 turnovers to take 4AAA lead Michael Christopher Assistant Sports Editor ATKINS - You could feel the tension in the air Friday night at Lemley Field as the Atkins Red Devils and Lamar Warriors came into the game sporting perfect 3-0 season records. The victor would remain perfect and take an early lead in the 4AAA Conference race. Both teams suffered turnovers and penalties for most of the game, but Atkins (4-0, 1-0) capitalized a...

Ozarks defeat Sand LizardsTurnovers hurt Dardanelle in 35-21 loss By Corey Thone For The Courier OZARK - The Dardanelle Sand Lizards fell to defending 4AAAA Conference champion Ozark Hillbillies 35-21 Friday night in Ozark. Dardanelle (2-2, 0-1) committed three turnovers in the game, all of which led to a touchdown by the aggressive Ozark (2-2, 1-0) offense. Everyone knew David English would be getting the ball for Ozark. It was no surprise when he scored three touchdo...

Western Yell County gets first varsity winOla wins homecoming 39-0 By Quinton Bagley Sports Editor HAVANA - It took Western Yell County 13 games to get its first varsity win, but Wolverine head coach Mark Tolton said last Monday night's 36-6 victory over Quitman's junior varsity had the team ready for more. "All the guys were very excited. We have played well at times this year, we just weren't able to put a complete game together," Tolton said. "We just couldn't close out ball games....

Atkins, Lamar perfect so farWarriors stingy defense faces Red Devils three-headed offense By Quinton Bagley Sports Editor It could very well turn into a good, old-fashioned slobber knocker Friday night when Atkins and Lamar open 4AAA Conference play at Lemley Field. Both teams come into the game sporting identical 3-0 records. The Warriors' Jay Holland and the Red Devils' Charlie Sorrels both said neither team is focusing on the record - just the task at hand. "We were 3...

Lamar-Atkins at a glanceWho: Lamar Warriors at Atkins Red Devils When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Where: Lemley Field Records: Lamar (3-0, 0-0; 4AAA) at Atkins (3-0, 0-0; 4AAA) Coaches: Charlie Sorrels, Atkins (161-69-1); Jay Holland, Lamar (19-55-1) Last meeting: Lamar won 25-6 at home. Game notes: Both teams are undefeated and someone has to take the 4AAA lead. Lamar has scored 116 points, averaging a little more than 38 points a game. The Warriors have two shutouts and only...

Price ready to face the underrated 4AAAALizards looking for first series win since 2001 By Corey Thone For The Courier DARDANELLE - The Sand Lizards have had a tough preseason, playing three tough teams in Danville, Lavaca and Atkins. For a team picked to finish fifth in the 4AAAA Conference, coming in 2-1 is a bit of a shock to people. "You know, we haven't played our best ball yet, and I think we get better every day. But so does every other team, so we can't have a day where we t...